A substantial number of manually operable weeding tools have been proposed heretofore, including some which are designed to be operated by a person in an erect position, thereby avoiding the necessity of the person's bending, stooping, or kneeling during the uprooting of a weed. For the most part the prior art devices have been less than successful commercially because of certain disadvantages associated therewith. One of the disadvantages of prior art devices of the kind referred to is that they employ plant engageable grippers or jaws which engage the plant stem at or above ground level. The engagement of a plant stem at or above ground level under sufficient force to uproot the plant more often than not causes the stem to be severed from its root, thereby leaving the root in the ground in condition for further growth.
Another problem associated with the known weeding tools is that the force required to move the plant gripping jaws to their gripping position increases as the jaws move toward such position. Such force must be maintained as long as the jaws are in their plant gripping position and, as a result, the user soon becomes weary, thereby limiting the use of the tool.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide a weeding tool of the general class referred to and which overcomes the problems discussed above.